Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ2: Embezzlement of CSSA payments
Following is a question by the Hon Wong Sing-chi and a reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (March 24):
Question:
Regarding the collection of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) payments by guardians or appointees on behalf of the elderly living in residential care homes, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of cases in which CSSA payments are currently collected by guardians or appointees on behalf of the elderly residents concerned, broken down by their relations to the elderly concerned;
(b) the number of cases reported to the authorities in each of the past three years in which the guardians or appointees were suspected of embezzling CSSA payments to the elderly residents concerned, together with a breakdown of these cases by their relations to the elderly concerned; the average amount of CSSA payments involved in each case, as well as the follow-up actions taken in respect of such cases and the results thereof; and
(c) the monitoring measures to prevent the embezzlement of CSSA payments to elderly residents, and whether it will consider appointing social service agencies as their guardians or appointees?
Reply:
Madam President,
Under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme, where an applicant aged 18 or above is medically certified to be unfit to make a statement on his own, an appointee will be appointed by the Director of Social Welfare to act on his behalf. Normally, a close relative of the applicant who is considered to be a suitable and trustworthy person can act as an appointee. If there is no suitable person to act on behalf of the applicant, a social worker of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) will be appointed to act on behalf of the applicant.
On the questions asked by the Hon WONG Sing-chi, the answers are as follows:
(a) According to SWD's statistics, there are currently about 11,000 CSSA cases where payments are collected by appointees on behalf of elderly recipients living in residential care homes. According to available information, about 83 per cent of the appointees are immediate family members or close relatives of the recipients, and about 7 per cent are social workers. A few appointees are friends of the recipients. One of the main responsibilities of the appointee in these cases is to receive CSSA payment and to pay the home fees on behalf of the recipients.
(b) We are aware of 12 cases over the past three years (five in 2001, one in 2002 and six in 2003) in which the appointee was alleged to have misused the CSSA payment and failed to pay the home fees for the recipients. An average amount of $22,000 was involved in these cases. Eleven appointees concerned were relatives and one was a friend of the recipients concerned. SWD has followed up these cases and arranged for the appointees to pay up the home fees and for any outstanding overpayments to be recovered. In view of the doubts over the suitability of these persons to continue acting as the appointee, SWD has re-appointed social workers to act as appointee in nine cases, another trustworthy relative to act in one case, while follow-up is still underway in the other two cases.
(c) An appointee is required to maintain a separate bank account and to ensure that the account is used solely for the purpose of receiving and administering CSSA for the applicant. The appointee is also required to keep accurate accounts of receipt and expenditure and other records of the administration of the CSSA payments for the applicant. SWD will carry out targeted random checks on these cases to ensure that CSSA payment is properly spent for the benefit of the recipient.
If an elder is staying in a residential care home which is run by a statutory organisation and there is no suitable person to act on his behalf, the residential institution can, subject to its agreement, be appointed as the appointee.
Ends/Wednesday, March 24, 2004
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